


And it was then that the Universe Stood Still

by cotton_bloom



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Everyone's in on this, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Multiple, Post Season 7, Slow Burn, unreliable narrators, warfare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 13:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16019162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cotton_bloom/pseuds/cotton_bloom
Summary: Something snapped. Without warning. Like a rubber band stretched too far, splitted apart and whiplashed. That kind of whiplash that burned your fingertips, the kind of whiplash that scared you.You scared someone.You hurt someone.You killed someone.You killed a whole people and you never even realized it.





	And it was then that the Universe Stood Still

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy guys, so I posted this on tumblr a few days ago- pilot chapter is painfully short- only 2 short excerpts between Lotor and Keith, just to get a feel for the story I want to do- and I'm sorry about that ;a; BUT Chapter 1 will be much longer and will start in Shiro's point of view! Hope you enjoy this fit of angst /)Q3Q/)

****It’s eerie, it’s cold.

   It’s silent. All for a sharp ringing sound, blood pumping into your head, pounding like a chorus of drums. It _hurts_. 

   Something snapped. Without warning. Like a rubber band stretched too far, splitted apart and whiplashed. That kind of whiplash that burned your fingertips, the kind of whiplash that scared you. 

   You scared someone.

   You hurt someone.

   You _killed_ someone. 

   You killed a whole people and you never even realized it.

   You, are in fact, a monster, and that will never change no matter how hard you try. No matter how hard you attempt moving on. You will _always_ be a monster. And that’s a truth you’ve always known but was too scared to try and face it. 

   _You_ , are Emperor Lotor, son of former Emperor Zarkon.

   And _you_ are no better than he ever was. 

 

* * *

   

   Keith stares drearily at the holographic tablet in his hand. It had been a week since he first woke up in the Garrison hospital wing, and he was still bed-ridden. And it sucked _ass_. He wanted to get out of the stuffy hospital room and get some fresh air. Run a little bit maybe. Just something to get him out of the building. His heart was weighed down and the last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a small room with it.

   _Voltron_ , defender of the universe. It makes Keith scoff at that title. The sheer _irony_ , and a blatant reminder of why making a group of young adults and teenagers save the galaxy is probably one of the shittiest ideas someone could come up with. 

   Keith felt like he was in _Ender’s Game_ , tricked into killing off millions- no- _billions_ of innocent lives in favor of victory and so-called “safety”. The estimated data in his hands was no lie- Galran Populations have decreased by 67%. And the kicker? The population decrease was centered where _Voltron_ had the most activity. It left a bitter taste in Keith’s mouth and he felt sicker than he had last week, in the head-spinning process of initial recovery. 

   There was no excuse for it, no way around it, no plot twists. The Voltron Coalition has killed off their key ally- and for what?

   Was it glory?

   Was it fame?

   Was it the twisted image of survival and inter-galactic “peace” so distorted that the assumed solution was to obliterate any “enemies” on sight?

   How does Shiro still want to be a paladin? Keith has asked himself that a lot lately. Because Keith sure as _hell_ didn’t want to be a paladin. He… never really wanted to be. He’s always wanted to protect people. But the only reason he was ever a paladin in the first place was because he wasn’t going to lose Shiro again. He just… he _couldn’t_. And now he’s stuck leading the group he’s killed innocents with. 

   _Innocents_. Admittedly, this wasn’t the first time Keith had thought about this. Even when he didn’t have the cold hard data staring mockingly back at his face. How many families did they kill? Fathers, Mothers, Children? How many did they leave abandoned and without a home? This wasn’t what Keith signed up for. This wasn’t what Keith wanted. He knew deep in his heart that war is “just like that”. Obviously, Krolia isn’t fazed. The other paladins aren’t faced- Shiro sure as hell isn’t- he’s out there giving victory speeches, giving condolences for the deaths on earth. 

   The human deaths.

   Not one mention of the Galra was uttered. At least, not one that was sympathetic. 

   Did they ever give condolences towards the Galra that gave their lives unwillingly- those that gave their lives for the Coalition, nonetheless? Keith can’t recall. He stares at his hands- stares at the hazy purple spots blotching his damaged skin. 

   This was wrong.

   Keith felt like a monster.

   He was no better than the enemies he was fighting. 

   None of them were.


End file.
